Social media strategy is still a relatively new concept to business executives, but it has become increasingly important over the year. Recently, this blog examined the value of marketing through various social channels, but companies can’t simply launch a social media campaign without properly preparing themselves ahead of time.
There are many risks associated with social media marketing. Depending on the channel, it’s very likely that all activity is going to be public. Unless properly set, all tweets are public and can be seen by anyone who logs into Twitter. Facebook business page messages can be seen by everyone as well. This is ideal, at least on paper, because companies should ultimately be doing what they can to further engage their audience through these channels, but it also means that businesses have to be careful about how they conduct themselves online.
Walt Harrison, a guest journalist with the Nashville Business Journal, wrote recently about the risks of social media marketing. He implored organizations to be cognizant of any potential dangers and underlined a number of the more severe risks.
“There is danger in ignoring or underplaying the risks associated with unmanaged employee Internet and social media use,” Harrison wrote. “Doing so invites harassment claims, discrimination suits or other legal distractions.”
That’s why companies should use the resources at their disposal to properly organize social media campaigns so they can mitigate the risk of improper use. Using FileMaker to develop a custom database software system can help organizations track social media posts and users who have access to each account. This will let executives know who is posting to various social channels, what they are saying and at what time the messages are being posted.
While database software can also help track social analytics, no benefits are possible until social campaigns are properly strategized.